


Could You Imagine; an Alternative

by confinesofpersonalknowledge, FebruaryFun



Series: Could You Imagine AU [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Abuse, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, I think that's it - Freeform, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Neglect, for now at least, i want to keep my readers safe why is tagging so haaaaaard, oh what else
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-10-16 07:55:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17545709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/confinesofpersonalknowledge/pseuds/confinesofpersonalknowledge, https://archiveofourown.org/users/FebruaryFun/pseuds/FebruaryFun
Summary: I wrote a fic about a world where imaginations literally come to life. I wrote about a cheesy romance, there were plot twists every other chapter... and I wasn't satisfied. So here I am! Originally, I was going to leave the original alone and just start this anew. But at the same time, while it was definitely one of my lower-quality works, it was fun. So instead, I'm going to work on both of them. Updates will be irregular, but I think this is better. I hope you enjoy!





	1. This Computer Program Listened to Too Many Emo Bands as a Child Mark 2

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Could You Imagine; First Draft](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15351675) by [FebruaryFun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FebruaryFun/pseuds/FebruaryFun). 

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new and improved first chapter! I'm going to make chapters longer this time around, so it might take longer to update, and with my schedule, well... we'll see what happens. Logan starts to notice that his mirage doesn't look like he feels well... and it's time to do some shopping anyway.

“Valerie, you know I’m not good with the aesthetic part of website design. I make the website functional, you make the website pleasing to look at.”

“I  _ know _ , but you know  _ how _ to, and I have a migraine, so I can’t even look at the screen, and Stacy refuses to even come out, much less help me on this! Just… Just make it grey with blue accents! That’s like, what you base your entire wardrobe around, it shouldn’t be that hard.”

Logan sighed. He couldn’t exactly argue with that. “By Stacy, I assume you are referring to your mirage?” Everyone had one, but Valerie’s was known to be a little… temperamental. A person’s mirage was a part of them, but they had personalities of their own. They were a manifestation of a person’s imagination and emotional wellbeing; Many people described their mirage as “a version of myself I could never be, but wish I could be sometimes.” Their presence made a person easier to inspire and more creative, often inspiring the person they were connected to- often called their conectee, for reasons that didn’t quite make sense to Logan, because the scientific term was  _ factorem illusio _ \- to take up a creative hobby. Valerie wrote songs and sang them, uploading them to Spotify, where she’d gotten quite a following. Joan and their mirage wrote scripts for short films, then produced them and posted them on YouTube. Talyn and their mirage- what did they do again? Oh, yes. They knitted baby blankets to donate to homeless shelters and sweaters for animals. Logan? Well, he… did an appreciation for mystery novels Mirages were very low maintenance, though they do need some care; they needed to go out and expose themselves to new ideas, they need to work on projects from time to time, they needed to be around other mirages for socialization, ect. Logan tried to take good care of his mirage. He felt he was doing well enough. He shook himself from his thoughts, focusing back on the conversation. “Alright, I suppose I could take over your task just this once.”

Valerie cheered. “I owe you like, a million by now, Logan. Maybe you’d like to take some of those favors in learning how to speak in less words?”

Logan couldn’t help smiling a bit. He knew his wording of things was a bit excessive, and ‘slang lessons,’ were sort of an inside joke between himself and Valerie. They’d managed to convince the rest of the office that it was an actually tutoring endeavor. “I have my flashcards, Valerie, I’ve been studying. Get some rest and drink some water, my workload has suddenly increased and I must… ‘hop to it’.”

Valerie laughed. “Alright. Thank you so much, Logan. Take care of yourself.”

 

Logan set his phone aside and pulled up the website they were developing. It was close to completion, all they had to do was work out a few bugs and modify the appearance. Logan pulled up Valerie’s general area of the program and sighed, looking at what the website’s current appearance was. It looked like a poorly put together Google site, which it was not! He added the grey background, but… where in the world was he supposed to put the accents? He considered for a moment, then turned in his chair. Perhaps this was something his mirage would like to help with. “Virgil?”

A dark, huddled figure appeared in the middle of Logan’s bed. If Logan was paying a little more attention, he would notice how Virgil looked a little worse for wear. Actually, that was an understatement. He looked awful. He was thin and sickly pale, a mess of matted brown hair falling into his face. His clothes were simple and badly worn, practically threadbare- a black t-shirt with a couple holes torn in it, a black, grey lined hoodie that looked like the sleeves were going to fall off, grey sweatpants that were frayed at the bottom. When Logan was younger, Virgil had makeup, but all that was left of it was a messy smudge of eyeshadow under his eyes that didn’t quite cover the circles under his eyes. He never really complained, but… how could he when Logan was so emotionally reserved? “What up, nerd?”

Logan gestured for Virgil to join him at the desk. “Design issues. Valerie is having an issue that has prevented her from working on this project today, and I am having trouble with-”

“Blue accents. Got it, four eyes. You use too many words.” He squinted at the bright screen, trying to focus. His vision was a little blurry, but he could still figure it out. His voice sounded strained, hoarse, as if he’d recently been screaming at the top of his lungs. “You should… here, add a half an inch band here, but stop it at about a quarter inch from each side. Make that a- a square quarter inch here and here that needs to be left grey. Okay, another… ah, um… a… two quarters of an inch down from here, on the side, quarter inch strips of blue…” Ugh, he couldn’t get himself unfixed on quarter inches. His head hurt. “Um… give each textbox a dark blue outline, make the text a slightly lighter blue. And make headings the same blue you made the outlines of the textboxes.” He sat on the floor with a groan. Everything hurt… he just wanted to lay down… this was so  _ boring _ … 

Logan wasn’t too alarmed until Virgil coughed.The rest of his behavior was normal for Virgil, but… come to think of it, he sounded a bit ill. “Um… Virgil… are you feeling well?”

There it was. An opening. “No!” Virgil went into a coughing fit, his irritated throat not appreciating him crying out like that. “You don’t leave your apartment like, ever, Logan, and when you do, it’s only to go to work or buy groceries. And when you leave, you  _ never _ take me with you. I mean… I’m always there, in your head, but I’m never  _ with you _ with you. You never let me walk around and just…  _ get out _ .” 

Logan was shocked. Virgil sounded so… distressed. It was true, that when he left the house, he often did not allow Virgil to manifest. He would rather just get on with his business instead of being distracted by random bouts of inspiration. But… oh. Oh. Virgil couldn’t live like that. He needed to get out, he needed to be exposed to new ideas. He only came out to occasionally help Logan with his work, and for a mirage, that could get monotonous very quickly. “Virgil…” He didn't know what to say. He thought for a minute. “I need to get more coffee, and I’m running low on milk. I’d also like to buy ingredients to make sandwiches. And the dryer destroyed almost all of my ties the other day when I dried them on the wrong setting yesterday. For this evening, play on my computer. Tomorrow, we’re going to go shopping.”

 

***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

 

Virgil  _ hated _ being stared at. He knew he looked like trash, but people didn’t have to give him that pitying look and disapproving glances. He was so nervous and awkward and upset, he didn’t talk to anyone at the grocery store. He just hid behind Logan and prayed for the outing to be over. The clothing store, however, was easier. There was barely anyone there, no one cared to look at them, so he didn’t have to worry about being judged. They browsed the store for a moment, Virgil wanting to look at some of the clothes, before going over to a rack of ties.

Logan picked up a solid grey one. Virgil scowled. “Really? Valerie wasn’t kidding when she said that grey is almost your entire wardrobe.”

“That was platonic banter, as I see it.” He glanced at Virgil. Of all the things to speak up about, it was his choice of tie? “I don’t see anything wrong with consistency.”

Virgil groaned. He glanced around the rack, then picked up a purple one with black and silver stripes. “What about this one? This one’s cool.”

Logan rolled his eyes. “You’re just fond of that one because it’s…” he thought back to his flashcards, which he actually did study, “...edgy.”

Virgil huffed and put it back. The next several minutes were spent bickering over ties. Logan wanted the plain black one, but Virgil thought it would make him look like a pretentious- well, I’m sure you can fill in the blanks. Virgil wanted him to get a dark purple one with a green lightning bolt, but Logan thought it looked like something a clown would wear. Logan wanted _another grey one_ with white dots, seriously?! Virgil wanted him to get a purple one with a haunted house on it- that was a Halloween tie, _what_ was he thinking? Logan proposed a faded black tie- nope, still would make him look like a- what about this purple one with- what was his obsession with purple? Logan didn’t have a single purple item in his wardrobe, it would never match- why was it all grey and black with him? Logan had some blue clothes- grey and black were _professional_ \- no, _professional_ was plain colors with simple patterns, not stupid solid colors that looked like they- Logan wasn’t wearing purple- he couldn’t be boring- Logan didn’t even ask Virgil- Virgil didn’t care, he was a part of Logan- Logan wished he hadn’t brought him- Virgil was hurt _didn’t care_ -

“H-hello, may I-”

Logan and Virgil both turned to the newcomer, growling out at the same time, “What?!”

The young man squeaked, frightened. “I-i was just asking if y-you needed some assistance, I ap-pologize for interrupting-” He was in a uniform, his nametag read ‘Toby’.

Virgil recognized that he was a mirage right away, and a small one, at that, however he said nothing. His instincts to protect flared up, he pushed his frustration down immediately. “No, no it’s okay. We could use some help actually. My  _ conectee _ ,” he glared at Logan, “and I can’t agree on what tie he should buy.”

“Well, may I see each of your selections? I might be able to help find a compromise?” He was calmed by Virgil’s gentler tone. Virgil and Logan both laid out their choices. Toby looked over them for a moment, considering. Virgil could practically feel Toby going through the options in his head, identifying things they both wanted and couldn’t stand and would be willing to give up. After a moment, he brightened. Virgil smiled a bit; he couldn’t help it! This guy was… contagious. “I’ll be right back!” He ran to the back room, then came back with a small selection of ties. “These were returned earlier this year and looked over, they’re on clearance now.”

Logan and Virgil looked over them, surprised at how appealing they were… to both of them. A faded black tie with shiny, dark purple, diagonal stripes; a dark blue tie with silver and grey diagonal stripes; A deep purple, almost black tie with a pattern of close together, tiny blues dots. They ended up agreeing on all three. Logan put them in his bag. “Thank you, Toby. I appreciate your service, I’m sure your manager will be receiving some excellent feedback on you today.”

Toby lit up happily. “Th-thank you sirs! I hope you have a great day! Ethan, over at computer three, can check you out.”

Logan nodded. “Thank you again, Toby.”

Virgil nodded. “Yeah, I hope I see you around. He didn’t miss the way Toby blushed at the praise, or the way he got a wave of excitement from being so close to the happy mirage. It had been so long, he’d almost forgot what it was like to talk to a mirage that so freely let their ideas and emotions out. Virgil was pretty closed off himself, but he hoped Toby could feel his gratitude as they walked away.

 

The two went to the counter, Virgil getting there first. Well, he was going to regret it if he didn’t say what came to his mind in that moment. “Hey Ethan over at computer three.”

Logan gently pushed Virgil out of the way with a huff. “I apologize for him.”

The man shrugged, then began ringing them up. When items were returned and put on clearance, it was the cashier’s job to put it into the computer that they were discounted. However, the cashier- Ethan- apparently overlooked the very obvious red clearance stickers on the small hangers the ties came on. “Your total will be seventy forty eight.”

Virgil was going to let it slide, but Logan didn’t shy away from confrontation as much. “Oh, I believe these are on clearance. They’re returns from earlier this year is what I’ve been told, and have been marked off.”

Ethan glanced down at the stickers. “Oh, sorry. Sure.” He corrected the price. “Your total will be twenty thirty seven.” Logan paid the man, and that was it. He took the bag and walked back to his car, Virgil on his heels. 

On the way out, Virgil tried to catch another glimpse of Toby. In doing so, he accidentally ran right into someone. “Oh, I-i’m sorry-!”

“It’s okay kiddo! No harm, no foul.” 

Virgil nodded to the man and joined Logan in the car. “Hey Lo, um… maybe next payday we should come back here and see about getting you a new coat. Your old one was never that warm in the first place, and it’s starting to get cold…”

Logan arched an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Virgil shrugged, looking out the window  awkwardly casually. “I guess… I kinda like clothes shopping.”

 

***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

 

Patton smiled at the receding figure and turned back to the clothing store, cooler bag in hand. “Ethan! I’m here with lunch!”

Ethan smiled, getting out from behind the counter to see Patton. “Hey Patton doll. What’d you bring today?”

“I made egg salad sandwiches- your favorite!- and sliced fruit with cream cheese dip and I also brought chips and soda, and leftover lasagna if you’re still hungry.” Patton held out the cooler bag full of more food than Ethan could ever eat for just one lunch.

Ethan took it with a smile. “Cool. Wanna come to the break room and talk with me while I eat?”

“Of course! Roman, won’t you please come out and keep Toby company? Pretty please?”

Roman appeared with a dramatic sigh. He was a rather impressive mirage, dressed like a prince and radiating creativity. He was normally manifested, but he’d been trying to get out of talking to Toby. “Make it a  _ gorgeous _ please, and okay.”

Patton laughed and hugged him. “Gorgeous please! Thank you Roman! I know you’ll get along, just give it time!”

“Whatever you say, Pat.” Roman smiled tensely as he watched them go. Toby came over to him, standing awkwardly near the counter. He and Roman had been trying to become friends- or even just comfortably acquainted- for ages now. The problem was, Toby was just so shy, and Roman was so dramatic and loud, and they’d yet to discover any overlapping interests between them. Roman considered it a lost cause, but Patton was so in love with Ethan… he was trying his best. After all, they would have to get along if the two moved in together, because then they’d be roommates, and how awkward would that be. Roman shifted his weight a bit, trying to find a topic for conversation. “So… have you ever watched the Office?”

 

***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

 

Logan took a good look at Virgil when they got home. His voice sounded better, his cough had gone away… he was still kind of pale and his clothes were depressing, but he didn’t look like he was dying. Then again… it had taken a push for Virgil to give him complaints. “Virgil… I know I don’t get out often, but I did not realize it was hurting you so badly. Would you like to go on more outings? I wouldn’t mind you wandering the park while I read in the car. Or I could work from a library on occasion.”

Virgil was  touched impressed that Logan was willing to do that for him. “Well… it beats rotting in this monotonous prison you call an apartment. You think I’m edgy? Your walls are so dark blue that we might as well be in the abyss. Turn on a light once in a while. At least open a window.”

Logan sighed. Well… He didn’t understand Virgil’s attitude, but he couldn’t afford to lose him. “Alright. The library isn’t open tomorrow, but there’s internet at the cafe down the street. I’ll call Joan and tell them that I’ll be working from home tomorrow.”

Virgil nodded, sitting on the couch. “Cool. Hey, can I use your laptop? Or do I have to go back to my room?”

Logan considered it. He normally had Virgil vanish so he could move through the apartment in peace, but… for now, it would be better to let Virgil move around as he pleased. “I suppose that would be fine. I will need it tomorrow, however. Please don’t keep me up all night.”

“Sure, sure. Thanks, nerd.” Virgil grabbed the laptop, pulling up some music and putting earbuds in. Logan wondered when Virgil swiped the earbuds for a moment, then went to his room to read.

Virgil waited until Logan left, then changed pages.  _ Mirage Support Group- for Neglected and Mistreated Mirages _ . He had dozens of messages from one person he’d been talking to over that site when Logan just… stopped letting him out.

 

Sent Jan 14

_ October: Stormcloud? You okay? _

Sent Feb 2

_ October: Hey, it’s been a while. How are you? _

Sent Feb 8

_ October: I’m kind of worried, hmu when you get the chance? _

 

Virgil skipped down to the last few messages, wanting to get caught up quickly so he could message them back.

 

Sent Sep 4

_ October: Hey. I’ve been thinking about you. _

Sent Sep 12

_ October: I really hope you aren’t dead. Get back to me? _

Sent Sep 16

_ October: Please? _

Sent Sep 18

_ October: I miss you. _

 

Virgil took a deep, shaky breath. Poor October… he didn’t mean to abandon them.

 

Sent Nov 23

_ Stormcloud: Hey October. I’m so sorry. Been kinda… not around for a while. But I’m okay now. _

_ Stormcloud: How are you? _

 

Messages started flooding into their chat in rapid succession. Virgil smiled a bit. “Missed you too, man.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! I did it! First chapter, I feel like this start is so much more satisfying (at least to me). Of course, as always, I like to look for feedback from my readers, so I've decided to start asking questions at the end of my fics in the notes, just as an experiment. This chapter's question: What would your be like? What would their name be? Tell me all about them, and how you would get along, if at all!


	2. That Time Virgil Nearly Died of Social Anxiety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan really needs to open his eyes and see what he's doing to Virgil. Virgil makes some new friends, and becomes dedicated to figure out the end of a story. Patton makes dinner, then has to make something else for Ethan, leaving Virgil and Roman to encounter each other in the store... and Virgil has no clue how to act. Everyone settles down for the night with a different thought swirling in their heads.

Logan woke up groggily, confused by nightmares of being locked in a refrigerator with no way to get out before he froze or suffocated. He sighed, rubbing his eyes. He’d been getting those lately, most likely some sort of petty attack from Virgil for pulling him off the laptop so they could go to bed on time. Going out to the living room, he made sure the laptop was where he left it before going to change into his day clothes. “Virgil? We’re going to the cafe this morning, remember? Come on out.”

Virgil appeared, once again on the middle of the bed. “Yeah, yeah, here I am.”

Logan huffed, a bit irritable from lack of sleep and annoyed with Virgil’s attitude. “You know, you could act a little more grateful. I am deviating from my regular routine, and I’m doing it for you.”

Virgil didn’t make eye contact with him, pulling his hood over his head and letting his bangs fall over his eyes. From the apartment next door, the new neighbor’s mirage felt a wave of hurt and distress. Virgil got up, wandering towards the door. “...we both know this isn’t for me.” Nothing more was said as they got ready to go. And nothing was said on the walk to the cafe, either. Virgil ~~just wanted things to be okay again~~ didn’t care.

 

Logan pretended the air wasn’t as heavy as it was when he got to the cafe, walking up to the counter. “Good morning.”

“Hello, and good morning to you too! What can I get for you?”

Logan looked up tiredly at the barista. It occurred to him that… he glanced at the name tag… that Patton was cute. Sandy brown hair, freckles, bright blue eyes… if he were in any other level of awake, he might have considered asking for his number. “I’ll have… hm… what’s the strongest coffee you have?”

Patton thought about it. “I’d say the NC Brew with a few extra shots of espresso.”

Logan nodded. “I’ll take two of those. Make it three.” He paid Patton and stepped aside to wait.

A few minutes later, Patton came back with his coffees. “Would you like anything else today? We have a very nice…”

Logan wasn’t really listening. He was too tired and frustrated to follow what Patton was saying. But… the guy was cute. And he seemed very enthusiastic. “Sounds great, I’ll take two.”

Logan returned to the table with three cups of coffee and two odd pastries. Virgil arched an eyebrow. “Low blood sugar?”

Logan rolled his eyes at him. “Didn’t sleep well.” He shot Virgil a glare and shoved the pastry towards him. “I know you don’t need to eat, but I can’t eat two of these and I don’t think they’ll save.” Virgil huffed and took the pastry, ~~internalizing~~ ignoring Logan’s glare. Logan logged into work remotely, sipping on his coffee and easing back into his work. He pushed the earlier interaction with Virgil into the back of his mind as he worked.

Virgil looked around. The pastry was awful, but he ate it anyway. There was a small lounge area with other mirages hanging out. He kind of wanted to join in, but his eyes landed on a specific imirage, dressed like a prince. Virgil could feel the energy and emotions radiating off him from across the room. He was obviously strong, and he currently seemed to be exchanging stories with the others. Virgil imagined himself walking over there, immediately drawing attention to himself with how awful he looked compared to the others, sitting in the corner, either being ignored or making things awkward. He was just about to go back to staring at the table when the aforementioned prince looked up and made eye contact with Virgil. And smiled. And waved him over. Virgil suddenly wished he didn’t have legs.

He reluctantly walked over, already embarrassed and shy. “U-uh, hi.”

“Hello!! I’m Roman Prince, at your service! These are my colleagues, Ada,” he gestured to a “punk af” girl who smiled and waved, then rattled off several other names, but Virgil was already lost just trying to commit the first girl to memory. “We were just coming up with a classical epic in our spare time! Do you want to join us?”

Virgil looked down and shifted his weight to his other foot shyly, mumbling. “Um… not… really good… that.”

Roman seemed to understand. “Oh, so you’re a different type of artist? Oh! Let me guess… You’re a musician!” Virgil didn’t know what else to do, so he nodded. Roman smiled triumphantly. “I knew it! Your style gave it away.” Virgil looked up, confused. What style? Before he understood what was going on, he’d been pulled into a seat next to Ada, listening in on the epic that Roman and a few of the others were creating. Waves of emotion came off of all of them as they spoke, drawing Virgil into the action. It felt… good. It wasn’t the same as it had been with Toby… he found his mind wandering a bit from the story. With Toby, it was short bursts of light, innocent energy that brushed past you and hung around, like a puppy’s tail wagging as it ran around you. This was a deeper, more passionate but heavier energy. Like being pushed out of the way by someone who’s about to start a fight… or end one. It was overwhelming and exhilarating. The prince was confronting the villainous king that stole away his fiance, neither of them knowing that she was currently climbing down from her window and sneaking away, disguised as a milkmaid. For some reason, Virgil was suddenly reminded of October. Sneaking off to use the computer, captive but defiant. He hoped October was doing well. Virgil tried to imagine what he looked like… Black hair, probably. Black hoodie over an orange shirt. Dark and brooding, but in a cool, attractive way. The kind of guy you’d see spray painting a building and sticking it to the man. Unfortunately, he was way off the mark. ‘October’ was currently glancing down at his phone, sitting in the back room at work. He had sandy brown hair and light brown eyes, freckles dotting his face and arms. Wisps of fondness danced around him like swirling leaves as he scrolled through screenshots of a conversation he’d had with a user named Stormcloud a while back.

 

_October: I’m not sure I can make it through today. He beat me until I was forced to reform again. I feel like I’m about to fly apart._

_Stormcloud: Hey, hang in there. Lemme send you something_

_Stormcloud sent an attachment_

_October: Lol! I’m going to save that for later. Did you write that?_ _  
_ _Stormcloud: yeah, thought you’d like it_

_October: Thanks :)_

 

He smiled, letting his memories and joy of knowing that Stormcloud was okay fill his mind. He could get through today.

 

***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

 

Virgil hardly noticed when hours passed. He was tapped on the shoulder and pointed to Logan, who was waiting by the door and gesturing for them to leave. He sighed dejectedly. “Oh…”

The prince-looking guy- Raymond? Hartman? He couldn’t remember- noticed. “Do you have to leave? Oh… well, how about next time you’re here, we’ll tell you how the story ended. Ada can write it down!”  
  
Ada nodded, pulling out a notebook. “Sure. We got you.”  
  
Virgil smiled a bit. “Thanks guys. I’ll see you soon.”  
  
After some hasty goodbyes, he left the group, jogging to catch up with Logan. Logan smiled smugly. “I see you enjoyed yourself.”  
  
Virgil glared at him. “Shut up, four eyes. That had nothing to do with you.”  
  
Logan sighed. “Come on, it’s time for lunch and I would rather eat at home.  
  
Virgil looked back at the group of mirages, still talking and laughing and sharing things they’d created. “Can’t we stay a little longer?”  
  
“Sorry, but no. Come on, Virgil.”  
  
Virgil followed Logan reluctantly. He wished he had something to share.

  
***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

 

When Logan and Virgil got home, Virgil immediately asked to use the laptop. Logan handed to him, giving him a stern look. “Thirty minutes. I need it to work in a little while.”

“Yeah, sure, cool.” Virgil took the laptop and sat on the couch with it. He would like more time, but he probably didn’t want to push Logan’s patience any more today. He immediately went to message October, discovering three new messages already there.

 

_October: Good morning!_

_October: Remind me later to tell you about this guy that came in yesterday_

_October: Off to work! Ttyl!_

 

Virgil smiled a bit. A guy? That was certainly going to be fun to here about.

 

_Stormcloud: hey_

_Stormcloud: only got 30 min so i’ll just update you real quick_

_Stormcloud: four eyes is letting me out more. We wnet to a cafe for a while so I could get out and four eyes could use the internet to work. There were a lot of creative mirages there, all sat in a comfy corner talking about stuff they made. I wish I could do what they do._

_Stormcloud: *went_

_Stormcloud: They were telling a story about a prince, a princess, an evil king, a dragon, and a knight_

_Stormcloud: wait maybe there was a witch. idk_

_Stormcloud: anyway, go ahead and message me about that guy, i’ll read it later_

_Stormcloud: Gn, October_

 

Virgil closed off the page and pulled up YouTube, catching up on music he’d missed. When his thirty minutes were up, Logan came into the living room, wordlessly holding his hand out for his laptop. Virgil handed it over, pulling out his earbuds. “Here. Can I have some paper? I want to make something for when we go to the cafe tomorrow…”

“We’re not going to the cafe tomorrow.”

Virgil swore that in that moment, gravity increased. “What? I-i thought you said-”

“I know what I said Virgil.” Logan cut him off, not wanting this to spiral into an argument. “However, the public wifi is too slow and insecure for me to work efficiently. I’m afraid you’ll have to get your stimulation elsewhere. Like when you’re on the laptop.”

“Y-yeah, sure, whatever…” He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. Most of all, he wanted to know how the story ended.

Logan didn’t notice any of Virgil’s distress. “Don’t worry, Virgil. I’m thinking about getting you a laptop of your own. Then you can do whatever you’d like on it and we won’t have to talk unless I need you, since you so despise me.” He turned and walked back to his room, to his desk, calling behind to him. “Paper and office supplies are in the hall closet! Grab what you need, just try not to make too big of a mess, please!”

Virgil went to the closet, barely glancing over it before claiming a spiral notebook, a pack of pencils, a pencil sharpener, and an entire pack of printer paper. After a moment of deliberation, he went to Logan’s spare room; it had become a haphazard storage room, containing all of the things that Logan wasn’t using and didn’t want to bother with. Virgil decided he felt right at home there. He cleared a path through the boxes and random clutter to a card table, managing to clear enough space off the floor to set it up with a folding chair. Once he had some space to work with, he sat down and opened the notebook, bringing a pencil across paper for the first time since… he didn’t know when. At first, he struggled a bit, but once he got the words flowing, it came easily. He wrote down as much of the story as he could remember, all the way up to the point where the princess was torn between staying in safety as part of the dragon’s carefully preserved hoard, or to go with the prince into the dangerous unknown. And then… he didn’t know what would happen. The prince had been kind of a douchebag… he treated the princess like an object, he had fallen for a ‘temptress’ that was really just an ordinary hooker, and he pretended to know exactly what she was thinking and feeling, speaking for her all the time… not exactly husband material. Not someone you’d want to brave the world with. Tentatively, he put the pencil back to paper.

 

_The princess looked between the two, torn for a moment. She truly didn’t want to stay locked away forever… but what was the alternative? Her ‘lover’ never seemed to care for her, demanding her fit into a mold she was not made for. After a long moment, she took her tiara from her head, tossing at the prince’s feet. “I’m not going with you. Between being imprisoned in a cave, and imprisoned in my own mind, I would rather never see the light of day again. Tell my mother I have perished. Tell your uncle that I died cursing his name. Tell your kingdom that my last wish was for you to prosper in my honor. I will not return with you.” The prince stood there, mouth agape. As she was at the entrance of the dragon’s lair, he called out to her._

_“Wait!” He picked up her tiara. “What about your kingdom? Your family? Friends, allies? You can’t simply abandon us.”_

_She stood still for a long moment. Then… “I was abandoned and forgotten long ago, and an illusion stood in my place. The illusion will be missed. But I will not be.” She entered the cave, welcomed into the cold, dark abyss that would become her home._

_The entrance was blocked by a massive stone, one that could only be moved at the dragon’s will. The beast was covered in dull black scales, the only shine on him being the deep blue scales around his eyes and down his neck. “I will come and go as I please, flying from the opening at the top of this cave. You will survive on the scraps I drop for you, and you will organize and care for my riches as I acquire them.”_

_The princess stood definitely, meeting the dragon’s eyes. “I will. But I will see the sun again.”_

 

  ***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

 

Patton hummed as he stirred sauce in a pan, tasting it with a clean spoon before deciding to add just a _tad_ more garlic. “So Roman, how’re your friends? Anything exciting happen recently?”

A mirage dressed as a prince, stirred pasta next to Patton, helping with dinner. As mirages go, he was bursting with energy; he could change his form at will, and Patton got impressions of his emotions when he felt strongly about something. His specialty was storytelling, and as a side effect, he couldn’t help dabbling in a bit of gossip. “Ada had something to tell! She got her connectee to go buy tickets to a concert- now she just has to make sure she actually goes! And I overheard that Prince and Missy are engaged! There’s speculation that Prince isn’t happy though… I’ll have to follow it more closely.”

Patton nodded along. “Is Prince the one who had an affair with the girl who wrote that album on self confidence that you like?”

Roman shook his head. “No! Prince is the one who beat Sandman on the last season of Dancing with the Stars! Missy was his dancing partner!” He sighed dramatically. “Really, Patton, you have to stay on top of things. I can’t explain who everyone is every time I want to update you on the latest celebrity news!”

Another dash of basil went into the sauce. “Okay, okay. I really am listening, Roman. I guess I’m not as passionate about it as you.” He smiled at Roman. He really did like it when Roman got excited about something, chattering away. Their connection was strong; they shared passions, traits, and emotions all the time. Of course, they still had their differences. It was fun to engage Roman’s. “What else did you hear today?”

“Oh! Well, someone new showed up at the shop while you were working!”

“That’s not really unusual, Roman.”

“Yes but this time was different!” Roman pretended to be exasperated at Patton’s comment, but they both knew he wasn’t. “A mirage joined myself and the others in the lounge by the front window. I noticed him watching us and waved him over! He came and sat with us, listened in. He was kind of a dark, quiet figure, but he seemed to be enjoying the story we were telling. He really didn’t want to leave when he had to, but we wrote down the end of the story so he could read it later. He said he’d be back soon. I really hope he is! He’s a musician. Maybe he’ll show us some of his music sometime!”

Patton turned down the temperature on the sauce to keep it warm while Roman strained the noodles. “That’s really cool, Roman! I’m glad you’ve made another friend. He sounds shy, but I’m sure he’ll open up eventually.” He looked at the time… 5:36. He pulled out his phone with a small frown.

 

_Patton: Hey! Dinner is ready! Are you still coming over?_

_Ethan: Yeah, on my way_

_Ethan: What’s for dinner?_

_Patton: Bowtie pasta in a red sauce!_

_Ethan: I’m stuck in traffic, probably gonna be there around 6:30 ish_

_Ethan: Can you make something else? We had pasta last week_

_Ethan: I’m not really feeling it tonight_

_Patton: Okay! What do you want?_

_Ethan: I dunno. Make something with chicken. Spicy maybe?_

_Ethan: Make sure it’s done by 6:30, I don’t want us to have to eat it cold_

_Patton: Alright! Love you, drive safe_

_Ethan: <3 _

 

Patton frowned to himself. “Hey Ro, could you pack this up in the fridge? We’ll eat it for lunch tomorrow.”

“What’s wrong?” Roman grabbed some Tupperware, feeling the disappointment wisping around Patton like clouds. “Did Toby change the menu last minute again?”

Patton nodded. “Yeah. He’s stuck in traffic anyway, we have an hour. I need to run to the store and get some chicken. It’s only around the block, do you think you can manage to stay here and cut vegetables?”

Roman sighed, getting out the cutting board and some peppers. “Stir fry tonight? Yeah, I’ll try. Might not be able to stay here for long, though. Still, head start.”

Patton smiled. “Thanks, Ro. Go ahead and get everything set up. I’ll try to be quick.”

 

  ***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

 

Patton was just putting some packaged chicken breast in his basket when Roman appeared next to him with a small yelp. Roman groaned and hugged himself. “Sorry, Pat. It started to really hurt, wasn’t worth it.”

“Aw, Ro…” Patton hugged him, his worry seeping into Roman and becoming care, like the warmth of a cup of hot chocolate spreading through Roman and easing the aches all over his body. “I told you that the moment it started to feel uncomfortable, you should come to me.”

Roman shrugged with a sigh. “It wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. Besides! I managed to get peppers and onions cut up!”

“Thanks, Roman.”

Patton and Roman decided to split up- Patton would grab soy sauce, Roman would grab two cans of cut green beans. Roman dashed into the aisle of cans, glancing over the canned vegetables. When he heard footsteps, he instinctively backed up so that he wouldn’t be in the way of another shopper searching that shelf. His eyes brushed over a familiar grey hoodie and he was immediately distracted from his task. “Oh! It’s you!”

The man jumped about two inches in the air, whirling to face Roman. Roman laughed good naturedly. “Sorry, did I startle you? It’s good to see you!”

Dark brown hair fell into the other’s eyes as he glanced down, mumbling something shyly. Roman was pretty sure he heard the words ‘good’ and ‘you too,’ so he assumed that his greeting had been returned. “How are you, uh… Oh, I’m so sorry, what was your name again?”

Once again, the man mumbled, looking sort of uncomfortable. Wow, he really _was_ shy… he was acting even more shy than he’d been at the cafe. “What was that? I couldn’t quite hear you…”

He took a deep breath and rolled his eye, brushing aside his bangs with a huff. For the first time, Roman caught something off of him; sarcasm. The man locked eyes with him and said, deadpan, “Anxiety.”

Roman took in what just happened for a moment, confused, before starting to laugh. “A-anxiety? In that case, I’m probably ‘Barely Filtered Ego’. Really, what’s your name?”

‘Anxiety’ just shrugged, made a finger-gun gesture at Roman, and walked away. Roman watched him in fascination, intrigued by the strange encounter. Suddenly, he heard Patton from the end of the aisle. “Roman! We’ve already wasted fifteen minutes, come on!” Roman jolted back into focus, grabbing two cans and running after Patton.

 

  ***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

 

Virgil wandered down the canned food aisle, searching for… what was it again… baby corn? Yeah, that was it. Logan wanted to try some sort of recipe he found online, so they were here buying ingredients. He nearly froze when he saw a familiar royal figure looking over the cans in… honestly, a comical amount of concentration. Seriously, he looked like he was deciding the fate of the world based on what can of preserved veggies he got. He took a deep breath, not up for a chat at the moment. The prince-dude stepped back, Virgil planned to walk right past him, and then-

“Oh! It’s you!”

Virgil jumped, startled. Seriously, did he have to be so loud?! Prince-dude laughed at him, making Virgil feel even more embarrassed. He looked anywhere but at the other mirage as he continued talking. “Sorry, did I startle you? It’s good to see you!”

Wow, when was the last time someone told Virgil that? He looked down, letting his bangs fall into his eyes defensively. “It’s g-good to see you, too,” he barely managed to stutter out at lowest possible speaking volume.

“How are you, uh… Oh, I’m so sorry, what was your name again?”

How was he? Forgettable, apparently. “Vrgl-” WHAT had just come out of his mouth?? What was that?? Was he having a stroke he didn’t know about??

The royal-looking guy was confused. Of course. Probably equally concerned about the possibility that Virgil was having a stroke. Could awkwardness give you a stroke? “What was that? I couldn’t quite hear you…”

Well now Virgil was definitely not giving him his name. Why would he? So that Roman could all go tell his friends about how ‘Virgil had a mini stroke in the grocery store because he’s such an anxious dumpster fire’? He huffed at the thought, rolling his eyes and brushing his bangs back. He just wanted this to be over. Then his mouth moved without his permission. “Anxiety.”

The guy stared at him for a minute, then once again, started to laugh at him. Virgil wanted to crawl into a hole and die. “A-anxiety? In that case, my name is ‘Barely-Filtered Ego’. Really, what’s your name?”

Time to flip the coin of fight or flight! Coin says… flight. Virgil shrugged, tossed out some finger guns, then turned and walked away. He decided that, weakness be damned, he wasn’t coming out from under the couch for a week.

 

  ***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

 

As it turned out, Roman had accidentally grabbed a can of green beans and a can of baby corn. That was okay, they would both be good in the stir fry. Ethan got home and kissed Patton’s cheek, sitting at the dinner table. He told Patton that he didn’t like green beans and moved them aside as he ate. Patton didn’t mind. He was just happy to see Ethan. They talked through dinner; apparently Ethan had made a lot in tips. He said that if they pooled their tips for the day, they would have enough to go out for the evening. In the other room, Roman and Toby sat on opposite ends of the couch, avoiding eye contact. They thought about the same person by two different names, wonder-struck. Ethan went to bed smiling. Patton went to bed with a sigh. Roman stayed up writing, struck with inspiration. Toby wished his storm cloud goodnight, then vanished into the corner of Ethan’s mind, feeding his dreams.

 

Virgil had forgotten to grab any vegetables, but he refused to go back and get them himself. Logan gave in to his petulance, going to get them himself while Virgil waited at the checkout. Logan ate dinner alone, thoughts preoccupied with Virgil’s behavior. Virgil went to the storage room, looking around. It was too cluttered, too tight. He began to move things around. Card table by the window, a large plastic container to hold supplies, paper folders to hold finished work, boxes piled in corners and against the walls, an old rug spread in the middle of the room. Logan went to sleep with a frustrated buzzing in his head. Virgil stayed up, biting his lip as, once again, he put a pencil to paper.

 

  ***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

 

_The princess did as she was told, organizing treasures into their little boxes, keeping everything together. She didn’t always understand what the dragon considered treasure- an old book that was just the same word printed over and over; a mirror, fogged over and covered in a thin layer of pain, irreparable; broken pencils, empty ink wells; nothing of any real value. Not any more._

_She began searching the edges of the hoard, looking for forgotten treasures of the dragon’s younger days, when he spent his time looking at the sky instead of spitting fire at it. She kept them all in her own little box, preserved in hopes they would maintain her sanity, and perhaps tame the dragon’s nature. A crumpled, marked over star chart; a broken music box; scraps of fabric in every shade of blue; a stuffed kitten, the smell of cinnamon and pine still wafting off of her; hidden dolls, made from sticks, leaves, and twine; painted glass bottles, made to be pointed at the sky; journal upon journal, describing every star and every musical note he ever heard; old pictures where the frames had accumulated dust over the faces, waiting to be cleaned. All of it went into her box… and for some reason, when she looked over all of it together, she cried._

 

Virgil startled awake from where he dozed. He frantically grabbed his notebook, writing down the next part of the story, just as he dreamt it. He took a few deep breaths, his story preserved and, for some reason, tears on his face. He shakily got up, pulling paper and a ruler from his box of supplies. What was that song?

 

[END CHAPTER]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay!! I finished it!! At this point, the plot has really started deviating from the original plot in the first version. Sorry again about how long it took! However, I'm improving both in health and self care, so I'm really starting to get my energy and motivation back! So (hopefully) updates will be more frequent! I earlier made a reference to Powerless by patentpending, and if you haven't read this masterpiece yet, you should really check it out! Feel free to point out any typos and mistakes to me!
> 
> So, question for the end of the chapter- if you had to choose which direction to take the story (stay with the dragon or leave with the prince) which direction would you choose? How would your story proceed?


	3. Logan Definitely Doesn't Have Feelings, Nope, Not At All; or Toby Finally Gets a Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan starts to be affected by Virgil's presence and adamantly denies it. Roman gives Toby something that will change his life for the better.

_ What was that song? _

 

***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

 

Logan opened his eyes slowly. It was Sunday… he'd slept in. No nightmares… no dreams at all, Virgil must've been up all night. He shook his head, getting up and starting his day. He went to his coffee machine and- “Ugh… Virgil!”

Virgil came out of what he had mentally declared his room with a groan, wandering into the kitchen. “What, four eyes?”

Logan ignored the nickname. “I had coffee grounds last night.”

“Oh yeah… I was up late. Needed a boost.” Virgil shrugged. A tired mirage could drink up a lot of coffee. He sighed dramatically. “If only I could get out and talk with other mirages more often… I could have the energy to be up all night and not drink all that coffee.”

Logan glared at him. “...I noticed my laptop missing. Don’t borrow it without asking. I’m already consider getting one for you, don’t push your luck. It better be charged.”

“Or what, you’ll stab me with a pen?”

...a heavy silence hung in the air, Virgil and Logan staring each other down. After a few seconds that stretched on for ages, Virgil turned away. “Yeah, laptop is charged. I’ll get it for you.”

Logan said nothing, watching Virgil leave. He didn’t let the guilt cross his face until Virgil was gone, sighing and running a hand through his hair. His voice was barely a whisper. “...I never meant to hurt you…” he confessed to an empty room

 

***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

 

Once he was situated at his desk, Logan opened his laptop and began signing in to work. A little overtime could never hurt… and there was so much to  _ do _ . He pulled up his work schedule and froze. There was  _ so much _ to do. So many  _ due dates _ . The silence around him was suddenly deafening. After a moment, he switched into a new tab and pulled up a music player, playing soft classical music.

Virgil watched him carefully. This was new. “You don't normally listen to music when you work.”

Logan sighed and rolled his eyes. “I just need something to help me focus. And you are not currently helping.”

“...you're anxious.”

Logan snapped at Virgil. “No I’m not!” He huffed and ran a hand through his hair again. Ugh, he’d just brushed it… why did he keep doing that? He hadn't had a tick in ages. “Out of sheer curiosity, how did you come to that conclusion?”

Virgil leaned on the doorframe. “We always get anxious when it's too quiet.” He was watching Logan carefully. As if he was looking for something. Logan didn't like the scrutiny.

“ _ You  _ get anxious when it's too quiet. That has nothing to do with me. Leave me alone.” Logan sighed as Virgil finally left. He needed to get to work…

 

***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

 

While Logan decided to be boring, Virgil decided to go through boxes and make a list of what was there. He didn’t normally bother with lists, but… couldn’t hurt to know what he had at his disposal. He carefully unpacked and repacked each box, writing out the contents of each.

_ Box 1: _

__ _ A heat lamp- light bulb needs replacing _

__ _ Four packs of computer paper _

__ _ Ten notebooks filled with notes from school _

__ _ Logan’s old backpack _

__ _ A box of pens (5), pencils (23), and highlighters (2) _

__ _ Duct tape (10 rolls, all blue. For whatever reason) _

_ Box 2: _

__ _ Four astronomy charts, one for each season in the northern hemisphere _

__ _ Posters (Dr. Who, Sherlock, 2CELLOS, Twenty One Pilots) _

__ _ Halloween Curtains _ _ I think I’m gonna put these up actually _

__ _ Violin case (what happened to the violin?) _

__ _ Ties. So many ties. _

__ _ Unicorn onesie _

__ _ Fairy lights _ _ (nevermind I’m taking these too) _

_ Box 3: _

__ _ Flashcards (1500) _

__ _ Blank notebooks (20) _

__ _ Sticky notes (2000) _

__ _ Cardstock (600) _

__ _ Graph paper (600) _

__ _ Rulers (2) _

__ _ Protractor _

__ _ Compass (the kind for math) _

__ _ Pencil sharpeners (5) _

Virgil pulled out the curtains and put them over the window in the room, then strung the lights up with duct tape. It was… pretty nice, in his opinion. That was only three out of eighteen boxes, but he decided that was enough for the day. He fished the notebooks out of the box, flipping through them. He forgot that Logan liked to doodle music notes and constellations in the margin of his notes. He was crazy about highlighters back in freshman year. His English notebook was full of notes pointing out typos and incorrect grammar in the books he was reading, but the section from his poetry unit was  _ terrible _ . Virgil quickly put the English notebook down. Junior year he really got into music, trying to pick out the notes in songs by ear while pretending to take notes in his geometry class. Virgil laughed quietly to himself, remembering the teacher’s face when Logan had been called on because they thought he wasn’t paying attention, and he corrected the teacher on their answer without looking up. He sighed, looking at the astronomy book. He flipped to one of his favorite parts, seeing his own handwriting next to Logan’s.

_ Virgil and Logan’s Favorite  _ _ Astronomical Phenomenon _ _ Things About Space _

_ Thorne-Zytkow object HV 2112- the star inside a star _

_ Brown Dwarf Star CFBDSIR 1458 10b- coldest star in  _ _ existance _ _ existence _

_~~The Drake Equation That’s not a fact about space Virgil~~ _ _ Yes it is shut up _

The list went on for three pages. Virgil kept flipping through the notebook, noticing where the notes got less detailed, less frequent, then dwindled away. There were more pages left in that notebook than in any of the other incomplete ones. Virgil’s heart broke. “...I never meant to hurt you…” he confessed to an empty room.

 

***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

 

_ The Miraggio _ was the best Italian restaurant in the city. Patton had spent forever saving up to make a reservation, and even then, the reservation was almost impossible to get. He was so excited to bring Ethan, knowing how much he liked Italian. Well, he was pretty sure Ethan liked Italian. He asked for it often enough. Ethan didn’t seem as excited as he was. “The decor is kinda tacky for a fancy restaurant, don’t you think?”

Patton thought it was gorgeous… with sparkling chandeliers, white table clothes draped over every table, and elegant, blooming vines of flowers crawling up the back wall. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Ethan shrugged. “Not like we can see much of it from this booth. Too bad we didn’t get a table.”

_ I tried to get a table, but it was hard enough to get in at all. _ “Sorry… So, um, what do you want to eat? I’ve heard this is the best Italian restaurant in the city!”

“I’ve never really liked Italian, but, I can probably find something I like on the menu. Do you mind if I order for both of us?” Ethan looked at Patton over his menu, arching an eyebrow at Patton.

Patton felt his heart deflate, but he smiled anyway. “Of course, hun.”

 

***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

 

Roman and Toby had their own little booth upstairs in the mirage lounge. Roman was taking selfies and scrolling through his phone, so Toby decided to get his own phone out, scrolling through old screenshots of messages from Stormcloud.

_ Stormcloud: dude I just had the best idea ever _

_ October: what’s that? _

_ Stormcloud: tiny waffles _

_ October: you’re right _

 

_ October: Today has been rough. I have zero motivation _

_ Stormcloud sent an image _

_ October: lmao _

 

_ Stormcloud: I’m going to put hot chocolate mix in four eye’s coffee _

_ October: hoe don’t do it _

_ Stormcloud: too late _

_ October: oh my god _

_ Stormcloud: Noooo that meme is dead _

_ October: It’s dead when I say it’s dead _

_ Stormcloud: leT IT DIE _

“What’re you smiling about?”

Toby’s head snapped up, and he suddenly found himself meeting Roman’s gaze. He blushed and looked away. “Um… just something a friend said a while back. Nothing important.”

“Well, smiling is important.” A wisp of determination circled Roman, luckily not picked up on by Toby. He was going to make friends with the other mirage, for the sake of Patton’s relationship. It occurred to him that he could feel disappointment from Patton… he would have to ask later. Right now, he had a challenge to overcome. “Tell me about yourself, Toby. We may as well get to know each other, since we’ve been acquainted for so long.”

Toby stayed silent. Himself? What about himself?! “U-um… I… uh… I like… writing.” That was true. That was pretty much the only interesting thing about him. “I don't write a lot though…”

Roman frowned. “Why not? I love telling stories!”

Toby shrugged. “Just… don't. Not exactly the most inspired…” He squeaked, suddenly finding his hand in Roman's. Roman was looking over him intensely, making Toby uncomfortable. “Um… wh-what are you doing…?”

“You're ill-formed, aren't you?” Roman watched Toby freeze up. That was all he needed. “There's nothing wrong with that, why didn't you just say so? You know I can help you.”

Toby looked down, embarrassed. Sometimes, when children were young, they didn't get much opportunity to use their imaginations. They never exercised their minds. It was becoming more and more of a problem these days, with parents just sitting their children in front of a screen instead of engaging them. And when they weren't using their imaginations, their mirage wasn't strong at all. They became ill-formed, a term for mirages who were late developed and crippled as a result. They tended to be smaller and more fragile, and they had trouble keeping their energy up without close assistance. Some cases are bad enough that people get medical treatment. Toby wasn't a horrible case, but he wasn't doing himself any favors bring shy.

“Yeah,” he sighed, “I'll ill-formed. But why would you want to help me? I can tell you don't trust Ethan… and you don't like me…”

Now it was Roman's turn to be embarrassed. “Because… I want to. I want to trust Ethan, and I want to be your friend! We've just been so awkward around each other!” He held Toby's hand a little tighter. “So please let me help. I want to know who you are when you have your strength.”

Toby was silent, glancing up at Roman nervously. “I… I don't know… What about you?”

Roman smiled. “Toby, I am absolutely  _ bursting  _ with energy. It doesn't have to mean anything. Just let me help. Don't you want to know what it's like?”

Toby took a deep breath, then nodded hesitantly. Roman smiled. “Relax, Toby. I'll be gentle with you.” He tilted the other mirage's head up, gently cupping his cheek. And when their lips met, Toby's whole world grew brighter.

 

***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

 

Sharing energy between mirages is an interesting process. Mirages emit energy all the time when they express themselves and their ideas, and absorb that kind of energy from others. It's how they stay healthy and socialized. However, in more dire situations, a mirage can share their energy directly with another by kissing them. For a moment, their energy will be equally distributed between the two. So when they pull away, they both have an equal amount of energy.

Roman wasn't kidding when he said he was ‘bursting with energy’. Toby wasn't sure he'd ever been this aware of himself. When Roman pulled away, Toby's eyes were alight and his colors were brighter. Before the kiss, all he wore was a faded orange T-shirt and blue jeans. It was all he could manage. But now, he'd come alive, showing his personality. A black button up worn open over an orange cotton shirt, black denim jeans, an orange bracelet and a green bracelet, both on his right hand. “Whoa.”

Roman smiled at him. “‘Whoa’ is right. You look fabulous!”

Toby laughed. “You think so?”

“Absolutely. And… You know, I don't think I've ever heard you laugh.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter! The transition from winter to spring is kicking my arthritic butt. If any of you have experienced Tennessee weather, you know what I mean. What even is spring here?
> 
> As I find with everything I write, it's getting faster and faster paced. So, I'm going to try to slow it down. That means it might be a jarring change of pace next chapter. Or it won't, and I'm just being anxious. Either way, you have been warned!


	4. Fresh Air Solves Everything Except the Things It Doesn't

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil manages to get Logan out of the house in an unconventional way. A relaxed day ensues.

_Stormcloud: He did what?!_  
October: Calm down, it was platonic  
Stormcloud: still your first kiss  
October: omg u right  
Stormcloud: Well is he a good kisser?  
October: I think so. I was a little overwhelmed in the moment.  
October: I feel awesome tho you have no idea  
October: I’ve been reading all night  
October: I made a new oc do you wanna hear about him?  
Stormcloud: Hell yeah  
October: His name is Magnus, he goes by Mags. He’s been blind his whole life…

Virgil smiled to himself as October went on and on about the character he created. He told Virgil the OC’s backstory, the inspiration behind him, even what he thought he would do in certain situations. He wasn’t sure he’d ever heard October this happy and energetic. It made a warm feeling spread through Virgil’s chest. This guy was like a little brother to him.

“Virgil? I need the laptop back.”

_October: And he has a seeing eye dog that he named Softy because he has fluffy fur!  
Stormcloud: Sorry Oct gtg. Four eyes needs the laptop. Just send the rest and I’ll catch up later._

“Now, please.”

“Okay okay, here.” Virgil closed the incognito tab and handed Logan the laptop. “Can I get back on later?” He really wanted to talk to October more about his characters, and how he felt after being kissed by a strong mirage. He sounded like he felt way better. Virgil kinda wished the same would happen to him. Heaven knows he could use it.

Logan sighed. He really needed to get Virgil something of his own, these exchanges were getting old fast. “I have to work late tonight, so most likely not.”

Virgil sighed. “Alright. I’m working on something anyway. I’ll be in my room.” He smirked when Logan huffed in exasperation, walking away. Logan was annoyed that Virgil had claimed the storage room as his own without consulting him, but he was also letting it slide. So Virgil was going to keep calling it his room until Logan made him stop.

Virgil went to his room and started organizing some papers he’d left scattered around the card table. When he had everything where he wanted it, he decided to go through more boxes to kill time.

_Box 4:_  
 Music folders [27]  
 Blank music sheets [I’m not counting all of those]  
 Orchestra pictures  
 Old music stand  
 Bow rosin (where is his old violin?)

_Box 5:  
 Pillows [10]_

_Box 6:_  
 Blankets [10]  
 Sheets [10]  
 Pillow cases [10]

_Box 7:  
 Beanbag chair (sweet!)_

_Box 8:_

Virgil froze, pulling back layers of bubble wrap. Logan’s violin case was sitting in the box, the old song lyrics he’d written on it in sharpie still visible. He gently picked it up, the weight telling him that the violin was still inside. Logan used to love playing the violin. He still liked to listen to violin covers of music online. But he dropped out of the orchestra senior year to focus on studying… not long after they-

Virgil shook his head. He’d keep it in a safe place. He moved it into the box with all the other music supplies and grabbed a sharpie, writing “MUSIC” on it in fat black lines. He put it in the corner, then went back to the desk, deciding to go through the other four boxes later. It was was a really pretty day outside… Warm, but with just enough breeze to be pleasant. It would be a nice day to go to the park… sit with headphones on under a tree, write in a notebook, just soak up the sunshine and relax. When had Logan last gotten out of the house? When they went to the cafe? Virgil was going stir crazy. Why did he have to be the only reasonable part of a hermit? How could anyone stay inside on a day like this? Virgil wasn’t even fond of going out when he had no reason to be outside, but on a day like this, it was a crime to not do something. He pulled the curtains open further and opened the window, taking a deep breath. Okay. No. They were not staying inside today.

Virgil had a plan before he even left his room. He grabbed some bubble wrap from the box the violin had been in and went into the kitchen. Their wifi router was plugged in and set on top of the fridge. Virgil unplugged it, then climbed on top of the counter and grabbed the router. He heard Logan clicking his mouse in the other room, trying to figure out what was wrong with the internet. Meanwhile, Virgil was busy wrapping bubble wrap around the router and taping it in place. He went to the window and opened it, looking down. Logan came into the kitchen just in time to see him drop the router out the window, into the alley below.

“Virgil! What the hell did you just do?!” He ran to the window, looking down.

“Relax, it has enough bubble wrap around it to survive a drop from five floors up. Two floors is nothing.” He shrugged. “I guess we have to go outside and get it now. It’s not so bad, the weather is nice.”

“Nevermind the weather! You’ve interrupted my work and you’ve probably damaged- if not completely broken- the router!!” He ran a hand through his hair, a mixture of frustration and something he would not admit to feeling coursing through him. “Get your behavior in check. We are not a child anymore, we are adults! We’re more mature than this!”

“So it’s ‘we’ now?” Virgil arched an eyebrow at Logan. “It’s not ‘we’ when we’re talking about anxiety, but it’s ‘we’ when I’m being immature. I think you might be missing a pretty crucial detail about our relationship, specs.”

“Fine. We. WE are more mature than this. WE do not get anxious over silly things like silence. And furthermore, WE do not care about the weather!!” He felt backed into a corner, fighting back tears of frustration. He hated Virgil. He hated him.

Virgil put his hands in his pockets. “Who uses the word ‘furthermore’? Whatever. I’m not going to get it, so you’re going to have to.”

“You’re such a brat!” Logan didn’t know what else to do, so he was throwing childish insults at Virgil. Virgil had gotten used to it. It was honestly kind of sad at this point. Logan walked past him, pushing him aside. “Get out of my way then. And leave me alone. And don’t ever do this again!” He stalked out of the apartment, fuming. Virgil closed the door behind him.

And locked it.

Logan’s eyes widened when he heard the telltale click of the lock, baring the door from intruders. Virgil appeared next to him. “Oops.” From the way Logan was turning red, he figured he’d better keep talking before Logan exploded. “Well since we’re out here, and since it’ll take a little time for the locksmith to come and get the door open, why don’t we go ahead and do something while we’re out?”

“What do you suggest we do?!” Logan was successfully distracted from ripping into Virgil too harshly. “My keys and my wallet are both in the apartment.”

“We don’t need money. Let’s walk to the park.” Virgil grabbed Logan’s hand without thinking and started walking. Logan was so surprised that he followed. “When was the last time we’ve gone to a park? I don’t thing we’ve ever been to the one nearby. It’s next to the Civic Center. It has walking trails, and a playground. And if it gets cold or a little dark, there’s a game room in the Civic Center. They have a ping pong table.”

Logan frowned, annoyed. Well… acting more annoyed than he really was. It was very nice out, and it felt so good to stretch his legs a little after sitting at his desk for so long. “We’ve never even played ping pong. And how do you know all these things if you’ve never been.”

“Ava told me about it. One of the girls from the cafe.” Virgil was determinedly looking straight ahead, totally not fixated on the fact that Logan was following him. Nope. Not at all. It definitely didn’t make him really happy. It didn’t remind him at all of when Virgil would lead him around in elementary school to look at things he found. Not a big deal. “She says that it’s a nice place to hang out when the weather is nice, but you don’t really feel like hanging out or doing any big activities.”

“Oh… well…” It was very nice out. A breeze gently brushed across the back of his sore neck. “I suppose there will be some time before the locksmith can get here. But let’s retrieve the router first. The car is unlocked, we can leave it in there.”

“Yeah, sure. But dude, you need to lock your car.”

Logan nodded, glancing at Virgil. ‘Dude’? Virgil hadn’t called him anything like that since freshman year. He… well, he did prefer it over four eyes.

 

***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

 

Roman sat on a swing, rocking back and forth and just listening. There were some birds whistling at each other in a nearby tree. Two girls jogged by, talking to each other cheerfully about nothing in particular. Patton turned the page of a book, smiling from where he sat against the pole supporting the swings. “Hey Roman? Maybe we should walk around for a little while. This pole is making my back hurt.”

“Good idea.” He got up, smiling and grabbing their backpack so Patton could put his book away. “Besides, it would be a shame if we didn’t get any exercise in on a day like today.”

Patton gave Roman his book. “You’re right! What should we do? Walk? Run?”

“Hm… it’s been a little while, let’s settle on a steady jog for now.” Roman was imaginary, so he didn’t really get fatigued from exercise like Patton did. It was why mirages helped so much in the labor business; they could work for hours without getting tired. Roman liked to run, but he also wanted to be mindful of Patton’s limitations. He helped Patton up and the two of them went down to the gravel paths that circled around the park. There was one that went all the way around, next to the street and the stream, and a path cutting through the circle, with a bridge that went over the stream to the sidewalk. The sidewalk would take you either to the road, or around to the front of the civic center again, depending on which way you went. “Let’s do the big circle, and then we’ll stop by the bridge when you’re tired and look for frogs!”

Patton laughed. “You know that there’s no such thing as a frog prince? We haven’t believed in that since second grade, and yet you still like to go frog hunting.”

“I know! But frogs are cool!”

“Fair enough.” Patton got to the beginning of the path and started jogging. It was really the perfect day for this kind of thing, the breeze keeping him from overheating, but the sun keeping him from getting cold. One of those rare, perfectly balanced days.

Roman jogged alongside him, looking around. There were more people than usual there, drawn in by the weather, but it was still relatively peaceful. As his eyes drifted across the park, he spotted a familiar figure sitting underneath a tree, looking up at the sky. “Oh! Patton, one of my friends from the cafe is here! You know, Anxiety? Do you mind if I go say hi?”

“Sure! Just catch up to me later!”

Roman stopped and changed direction, walking across the grass. His conectee was sitting on the other side of the tree, reading something on his phone. They both looked way more relaxed than they were at the coffee shop. It was almost a shame to disturb them. Almost. “Anxiety! We’ve missed you at our little cafe corner!”

Virgil jumped. “O-oh. Hey, Princey. Didn’t expect to see you here.” Wow. That was lame. Logan glanced at them, but said nothing, going back to reading.

Roman sat next to Virgil. “Well, who can resist going out on a day such as this?”

“Apparently four eyes over here.” He told Roman about dropping the router out the window and locking Logan out of the house. “So now we’re hanging out here until the locksmith comes.”

Roman laughed. “That’s genius! Are you sure a musician? Not a comedian?”

Virgil shrugged, smiling a bit. “Maybe a little of both.”

Roman smiled, and Virgil could swear his eyes sparkled. “You truly are a mystery, Anxiety. I can’t figure you out. You’re so timid and closed off, yet you have such a clever tongue, and such sharp, observant eyes. Who are you, really? When you’re in your element?”

Virgil could feel heat rising in his face. “Look Shakespeare, I’m nothing special. Just another annoying guy who likes music.”

“I don’t think you’re annoying.”

Virgil met Roman’s eyes, a sarcastic comeback on the tip of his tongue, but he found the words sliding back to die in his throat. Roman looked sincere. Almost… confused, as if he couldn’t understand how anyone could think of Virgil that way. He couldn’t, really. He would never get tired of Virgil’s wit, or the way he flustered so innocently when he was surprised by a compliment. The genuine surprise in Virgil’s eyes broke his heart. “You’re not annoying. You’re lots of fun to talk to. I would love to hear some of your music someday.”

Virgil looked down, that attractive blush darkening. “…shut up, you dork.”

 

***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

 

Logan wandered off to a nearby park bench, tired of overhearing Virgil and Roman’s conversation. As he did, he noticed a wallet laying in the gravel. There were a few people jogging, maybe it belonged to one of them? He picked it up and set it on the bench next to him, figuring he would just keep an eye on it until its rightful owner came to retrieve it. He opened his book to read, waiting.

A few joggers went past. None of them stopped or looked like they were searching for something. A cute man about his age who wore similar glasses jogged past, humming to himself. Logan almost wished he had stopped.

Virgil came to join him when his friend left, sitting on the other side of the bench. Logan read until the sun began to set. Still, no one had come looking for the wallet. He opened it and looked at the ID inside. If he’d been paying more attention, he would’ve recognized the picture on the license. Virgil frowned at him. “That isn’t yours. What are you doing with it?”

Logan sighed. “It was laying on the ground, I set it on the bench for it to be found by the owner. However, no one showed up. I’m looking for a phone number.” He pulled out a card and nodded. “Here we go. I’m going to call…” He trailed off for a moment, realization dawning on his face. “Virgil, I don’t think I remembered to call the locksmith.”

Virgil was silent for a moment, then started laughing, trying to contain it and failing. “Oh my god- Lo- You’re such a disaster…!”

Logan found Virgil’s laughter start to get contagious. He started chuckling to himself. “You can’t blame me! The whole situation was bizarre. I got locked out of the house trying to retrieve my wifi router from the alleyway, so I got a book from my car and went to the park! Of course something was going to get lost in all this confusion.”

“Just admit it Lo, you need to get out of the house more.” Virgil was smiling at Logan. Logan rolled his eyes, but there was a fondness in the gesture. Something in Virgil softened. “Logan? I… I can’t remember the last time you laughed with me.”

Logan paused, looking at Virgil. “…I don’t think I can either.”

Virgil moved and sat right next to Logan, looking at the ground. “Dude… we have issues. We need to get our shit together. We… we need to talk.”

 

***~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~***

 

“How the fuck did you lose your wallet?!”

Patton flinched. Ethan was mad at him again. “I told you, I-i-”

“Why did you even go to the park?! You should’ve done something useful with your day off! Look at this place! The laundry hasn’t been washed, the dishes aren’t done, there isn’t even enough time for you to make dinner at home! You’re such an idiot sometimes, Patton.” He shook his head. “Straighten out your priorities.” He went to the door and grabbed his keys, then left.

Patton looked down at his shoes, ignoring the way tears blurred his vision. Well, it was too late to go to the laundry mat… so he figured he’d better get started on the dishes.

[BREAK]

“That asshole!” Roman paced in Patton’s room, fuming. “No one should talk to Patton like that! To anyone like that! What is his problem?!” He turned to look at Toby, who had been silent the whole time. “Did you know that he’s like this? Why didn’t you warn us?!”

Roman realized his mistake as soon as the words left his mouth. Toby flinched, tears having long since started running down his cheeks. He was tense and shaking, afraid. Roman gently walked over to him, softening. “Hey. Are you okay?” Toby shook his head, but didn’t say anything else. “Can you tell me what’s wrong?” Roman asked quietly. Toby only shook his head again. Roman had just opened his mouth to reassure him when Toby suddenly stood.

“I have to go. Ethan’s walking away.” He vanished from sight, leaving Roman with a heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach. What was going on?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huzzah! A longer one, and sooner! I've been feeling a little rejuvenated by a burst of spring weather in the air, can you tell? Next chapter may be a heavy one, so brace yourselves.


	5. Hiatus Notice

I know this is the worst thing ever and y'all are going to hate me for this, but I'm going on an actual, announced hiatus! I love writing fanfiction, and this is one of my pet projects, but I've started the beginning stages of writing a book! I have a concept I really like, and I think I can do it. You've read this, which I publish after only going through one or two drafts. I think if I really take my time with this book, I'll be able to create something truly amazing. And I wouldn't have the confidence to try without the support and feedback from all of you guys! So thank you!! I'll still take requests for one shots over on my Tumblr (@februaryfun) and I'll still probably update once in a while, just because I love writing this story! Until then, I hope you have a wonderful day! Thank you!


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